Seems to me we ought to listen and cheer for what’s right, no matter if it comes from the mouths of babesor the graying aged.

Seems to me, Dave, you’re simply promoting the idea that we ought to listen, or not to listen, to someone simply based upon their skin color, their gender or, in your thinking, their age.

Frankly, Dave, I think you’re a generational bigot. A simple-minded, tiny little mushy generational bigot: Forget the truth, forget the facts, in your way of thinking, and simply notice the generational class of the speaker, the leader, The One you deem worthy of your attention.

How utterly small and pathetic is this way of hearing and perception, Dave? You’re simply seeking the easy way, the bigot’s way of determining what is right and wrong.

I’ll have no part of it, Dave. And neither should a bright guy like you, pal.

Here’s more of a list from the Silent Generation:

- Nina Simone
- Bob Dylan
- Jimi Hendrix
- Peter, Paul, and Mary (all three)
- The Beatles (three of four)
- Richie Havens

I really question the label of “were just too old and conventional to fight for real change in the 60’s”.

From the political front to music to whatever else you want to discuss, I’m willing to say that the Silent Generation was most surely involved in the fight for change in the 60′s.

Do the reading on who was in this class. I think you’ll be surprised.

Now, I’m also willing to say that they might’ve “lost” their way once they got into their more conservative years, and concentrated more on things like the environment than civil rights, but I don’t think the contributions made by them during this pivotal can be ignored.

Also, the three people that I highlighted above… perhaps some of the best and brightest of their generation… were assassinated. I’m not sure how any generation would react to that in later life…

And, I’ll just leave you with a piece of what is surely a “don’t rock the boat” type of song:

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it’s evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don’t you know that you can count me out
Don’t you know it’s gonna be all right
all right, all right

* Even though I’ve always been more of a Buffalo Springfield fan, I think this is appropriate.

The same is true today. Our President is Generation X. Most of the legislature are Boomers. But the people who will make the big changes as a generation over the next 10-20 years will be the Millennial generation, the young people. They will decide who to follow and what to believe. And they, like the GI Generation before them will get the credit for building a brave new world.

Think about the GI’s, born 1901-1924. They were the youthful soldiers during WWII, not the top brass. The top brass and were of the Lost (1883-1900) and Missionary (1860-1882) generations. Although FDR and Macarthur (Missionary) and Patton and Eisenhower (Lost) get credit for leading the efforts in WWII, the generation that is called the “Greatest Generation” is the GI’s who fought in the war. The same is true for the Silents in the 60′s. They may have produced the leaders who rallied the “troops” rebellion, but the generation that took on the task was the Boomers, and, as usual, the victors get to write the history books.

You say this:

2. They are, for younger Gen X’ers and older Millennials, our parents.

and

6. The Silent Generation (born 1925-1942) were “old” right from the start, never having much of a chance to shake things up in their youth.

Just a reminder that both mom and dad are members of the Silent Generation, and not Baby Boomers.

Guess the three years difference in our ages means that you perhaps don’t remember some of the shaking-up of things that our parents did.

But, I’ll wager that many folks from this generation (who were between 23 and 40 when I was born in 1965) played pivotal rolls in shaking things up enough that we now have a black president.

Indeed, these fine folks all came from the silent generation:

- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Malcom X
- Bobby Kennedy

Should I continue with the list?